


The Skeleton in the Mountains

by 18lzytwner



Series: Bones - First Series [5]
Category: Bones (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-01-21
Updated: 2007-01-21
Packaged: 2019-06-10 12:29:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 16,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15291552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/18lzytwner/pseuds/18lzytwner
Summary: Booth and Brennan are called out to Colorado when a frozen body is found. When Brennan discovers something gruesome, trouble arises when the killer comes to collect what they've lost. 5th BB and Hodgela.  Song included is Conversations with my 13 year old self by Pink





	1. Chapter 1

**The Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab, Friday 3:30 p.m.**

                She stood over a very old skeleton trying to discern the cause of death.  Most people would have considered the items the body was found with and made an automatic assumption but that wasn’t her style.  The skeleton was more important than the items surrounding it.  In fact, the musket, homemade round bullets, and what remained of a blue coat and white vest and pants, normally would have indicated that the body had been one of a Continental Army soldier, dating back to the American Revolution but something was amiss.  The sound of a card being swiped through the security post went unnoticed as she tried to nail down the facts.

          “Bones.  We have another case.”  It was Agent Booth.  When she didn’t respond he tried again.

          “Bones.”  Again no luck so he did the only thing he could think of.  He got right up behind her and breathed on her neck.  The little hairs on the back of her neck stood at attention and she immediately turned around.

          “What are you doing Booth?”  She practically snapped at him.

          “I knew you’d like that.”  He smirked.

          “What if someone saw?”  She wondered.

          “Let them; there was nothing to indicate that I have a relationship with Dr. Temperance Brennan, the world’s best forensic anthropologist.”  Booth continued to smile.

          “Uh huh just another case of sexual harassment in the work place.”  She replied.  Booth was about to say something when someone interrupted.

          “Dr. Brennan, something doesn’t seem right with the x-rays of our Revolutionary War John Doe number four-sixty one.” 

          “Yes Zach, something seems odd about John Doe number four-sixty as well.”  She said.

          “That’s fascinating but we have another case that is a little more pressing.”  Booth shifted the focus back to himself.

          “What’s up?”  Angela walked up onto the platform followed by Hodgins.

          “We’ve got a body or what’s left of one that needs immediate attention.”  The FBI Agent explained.

          “This late on a Friday?  It can’t wait?”  Angela asked hopefully.

          “I’m afraid not.”  Booth said waving the file in the air.  Brennan grabbed it and looked at what the manila folder contained.

          “No fair, I wanted to spoil the surprise.”  He whined mockingly.  The forensic anthropologist gave him a look and continued to sift through the grotesque pictures.  She then closed the folder and looked at her team.  Angela had a hopeful look in her eyes, as did Hodgins.  Undoubtedly, they had plans.  Zach was still focusing on the x-rays from John Doe four-sixty one.

          “I think I can handle this myself tonight but I want everyone here tomorrow at ten a.m.”  She said.  Angela was about to object when Cam walked over.

          “Did I just hear you telling them they could go home with a body that needs to be worked on?”  The Head of Forensics asked.

          “The body was discovered near the Rockies.  I highly doubt that anything is going to get shipped here before one or two in the afternoon tomorrow.”  Brennan told her.

          “That’s right and our flight leaves at six so we need to move it along.”  Booth tried to hurry them up.  Cam gave him a look and then turned her attention back to Brennan.

          “All right.  Zach, pack up the remains of the Revolutionary War John Does.  You guys will be working on them tomorrow until Dr. Brennan can send over the remains.”  With that she turned and left the group.

          “All right.  Grab your kit and I’ll pick up at 4:30.”  Booth told the forensic anthropologist.

          “That doesn’t give me much time to pack.”  She said.

          “I know but remember the last time we went to the airport?  They almost didn’t let you on the plane and I had to go through that whole spiel about how you were my partner and you weren’t going to try to blow the plane up with the powders in your kit.”  Booth reminded her. 

          “For some reason they were more than willing to let you through with your guns.”  Brennan said.

          “That’s cause Cullen ripped them a new one.”  He pointed out.

          “Now come on.”  The FBI Agent continued.

          “Have fun you two.”  Angela smirked as she left the platform.

**On the flight to Denver, 7:00 p.m.**   

          “Well this isn’t what I had in mind for our romantic weekend getaway.”  Booth told Brennan as she closed the file.  She just smiled.

          “This should prove to be very exciting.  It will be my first frozen body.”  His partner said.

          “Very exciting.  Do you remember what I told you when I came to New Orleans to save you from facing murder charges?  When you go on vacation you go away somewhere to relax, not to identify someone’s remains.”  He sighed.  Brennan just shrugged and wondered,

          “Well what would you rather do?”   

                “I’d rather go skiing or be lying on a beach somewhere.”  He said.

          “I’d like to go undercover again.”  She smiled.

          “Bones, that’s not a vacation either.”  Booth rolled his eyes.

          “Yes well I enjoyed the Las Vegas experience.”  Brennan defended herself.

          “I didn’t.  I got the crap beat out of me, twice.”  He said.

          “But you beat the second guy.  He was huge and you did a great job.”  She reminded him.

          “I guess there were a few things I enjoyed.  Zipping up that dress that I bought you.  Actually being able to act like a couple and not having to hide it.  You still have that don’t you?”  Booth smiled.

          “I still don’t know how I was supposed to get into that thing by myself and yes I do have it but not with me.”  Brennan told him.

          “Aw that’s a shame.”  He teased.  She just rolled her eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Idaho Springs, Colorado, Saturday at 8:00 a.m.  MST (10:00 a.m. EST)**

            It was a crisp cold morning in Idaho Springs, Colorado.  A small sleepy mountain town, thirty miles west of Denver, was home to just under two thousand people and it reminded Brennan of when they went to Aurora, Washington the year before.  She smiled and climbed out of the rented Ford Explorer in front of the coroner’s office.  Booth was talking to the local police a few doors down and he had promised to catch up to her.  Opening the door to the small building, she was greeted by a blast of warm air and a smiling receptionist.

          “Hello, my name is Kelly Mitchell.  Can I help you?”  The friendly woman was about five foot four with dark brown hair tied back into a ponytail.  She wore a blue and white striped button down shirt with a pair of navy blue slacks.

          “Yes, I’m Dr. Brennan.  I’m looking for Dr. Saunders.”  The forensic anthropologist smiled back.

          “Oh Dr. Brennan, we’ve been expecting you.  You’ll find Dr. Saunders just through that door.”  The woman said.

          “Thank you Ms. Mitchell.”  Brennan told her and headed for the door.

          “Please call me Kelly.  I imagine we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”  The forensic anthropologist nodded and went through the door.  There was a tall muscular man that appeared to be around fifty pulling one of the body storage compartments open.

          “Dr. Saunders?”  Brennan asked.  The man stopped what he was doing and looked over at the body that went with the voice.

          “You must be Dr. Brennan.  I’ve heard so much about you.”  He straightened up, removed his rubber gloves, and wiped the powder from them on his apron.  Extending his hand, he shook Brennan’s.

          “It’s nice to meet you.  Please call me Leo.” 

          “You can call me Temperance.”  She smiled.  He nodded, moved over to a shelf, and grabbed a box of rubber gloves.  Brennan placed her kit down and accepted a pair he handed her.

          “I hope those fit, since I’m the only one that wears them in here I tend to by the large ones.”  Leo told her.  Brennan slipped the gloves on and found them to be a little big but she smiled and said,

          “No problem.  As long as the evidence isn’t compromised I don’t care.  So where is the body?”

          “Over here.”  Leo went over to the drawer he had opened and pulled it out.  The two shifted the body off the slab and onto a gurney.  Then from the gurney, they carefully moved it to the examining table.  Quickly, the forensic anthropologist opened her kit and removed the camera.

          “This is amazing.”  Brennan said as she snapped some photos with her camera.

          “I figured you’d like it.”  Dr. Saunders teased.

          “Anyway, the body was found Friday morning by local Sally Glenn and her boyfriend Richard Kidd.  They were hiking near Pike’s Peak.  Now I’ve seen frozen bodies but this one.  I’ve never seen this.”  He continued.

          “How exactly did they find him?”  Brennan asked as she examined the bones that protruded from the frozen torso.

          “Well they found him standing straight up.  He was buried up to his mid-thigh in the dirt and the rest of him was sticking out of the dirt.”  He told her.  Brennan made a face as she moved up to the torso.

          “That explains why from mid-thigh down he’s nothing but bones.  I’m amazed that the flesh and tissue remain relatively intact above that.”  She said.

          “Well I thawed him out slowly and managed to remove the larger chunks of ice.  This is a small town and I don’t recognize him.  I tried running his fingerprints through our limited database and I got nothing so I sent them to Denver but they got nothing either.  That’s why I had Denver contact the FBI and then you.”  Saunders explained.

          “How did you remove him from the ground?  It’s cold enough out here for the ground to be frozen.”  Brennan wondered.

          “That was tricky but the police used wedges and sledgehammers.  I had them remove everything around the body within a three-foot radius.  I have the dirt stored in large plastic boxes but I haven’t had the time to sort through them yet.”  He explained.

          “Can I send them back to the Jeffersonian?  I have an entomologist there that would be happy to do the digging for you.”  She told him.

          “By all means.  The Post Office is just down the street.”  Saunders said.

          “Now judging from the bones, I’d say that they were in the ground at least three weeks.”  Brennan carefully examined the piece of broken femur.

          “That makes sense.  We hadn’t had snow for a long time and then about three weeks ago a storm dumped four feet in town and five to six feet in the mountains.  A lot of skiers came into town and we were jammed until the recent heat wave.”  He told her.  The forensic anthropologist was about to comment when Booth came in through the door.

          “Dr. Leo Saunders, I’d like you to meet my partner, FBI Special Agent Booth.”  She said.

          “Doctor.”  The FBI Agent nodded and the doctor nodded back.

          “Booth, Leo was just explaining to me that there was a recent heat wave.”  Brennan said.  He gave her a look and skeptically asked,

          “Forty is a heat wave?” 

          “Well it’s enough to start the snow melting and small avalanches on the mountain that’s probably why Sally and Richard found the body.”  Saunders said.

          “I have a trip to the Post Office to make and some pictures to send to Angela.  You can help me carry the boxes.”  Brennan smiled. 

          “Oh goody.”  He smirked.

          “So are you going out to visit the crime scene?”  Saunders asked.

          “Yeah, Deputy Brockman is taking us up there in an hour.”  Booth said.

          “Good luck and keep warm.”  The coroner smiled.


	3. Chapter 3

**Pike’s Peak, Saturday at 10:00 a.m.  MST (12:00 p.m. EST)**

            “There are a lot of old mining tunnels around here since the gold rush back in eighteen fifty nine.  That’s why we put warnings up at the trail heads so the hikers will pay attention to their surroundings.”  Deputy Brockman said.

          “So at first you thought our dead guy became trapped in a mini-cave-in?”  Booth wondered.

          “Exactly, but when we found that he had been actually buried we decided to call Denver.”  Brockman said.

          “Deputy Brockman…”  Brennan started.

          “Please call me, Marty.”  He said.  She smiled and started again.

          “Marty, how exactly did you find the John Doe?”

          “Just up here on the trail we found him standing straight up.  That seemed odd to me considering the nasty winds we get up here.  Also the snow storm dumped at least six feet of snow, so I figured he would have been bent over or something.”  He said.

          “My thoughts exactly.  Yet his femurs didn’t show any signs of fractures or even chips.”  Brennan said.

          “What are you thinking, Bones?”  Booth asked.

          “You call her Bones?”  Marty gave a chuckle.

          “What’s so funny?”  Brennan wondered.

          “Oh nothing it’s just that Dr. Saunders’ first name is Leonard, but something he likes to keep private is his middle name.”  The partners gave him a look.

          “His full name is Leonard McCoy Saunders.”  At this Booth gave a chortle.

          “What?”  Brennan asked.

          “From Star Trek, Dr. McCoy.”  Marty said. 

          “I don’t know what that is.”  She told him.  Marty looked to Booth and the FBI Agent just shook his head.

          “She lives a life without TV, I’m afraid.”  Booth said.  The Deputy just shook his head and continued on the trail.  The shin deep snow was very wet and it was beginning to seep through his pants.

          “Well here we are.”  He pointed out.  The bright yellow crime scene tape was surrounding a large part of the trail.

          “It’s full of snow.”  Brennan had a disappointed look on her face.

          “Why wasn’t a tent erected?”  Booth asked.

          “Up here in this weather a tent wouldn’t last five minutes so we did something different.  Agent Booth if you wouldn’t mind.”  Marty indicated to the ground by the tape.  Booth looked and discovered a blue tarp.

          “Very smart.”  Booth said.  Marty smirked and carefully walked around the edge of the hole. 

          “On three, one, two, three!”  Both men pulled the tarp up and the snow shifted off of it a little bit.  They repeated this a few more times until they could remove the tarp all together.

          “We lucked out it isn’t snowing right now.”  The Deputy said.  Booth nodded and watched as Brennan carefully climbed down inside the hole.  She scanned around the area and tried to look for anything that seemed out of place. 

          “What are you looking for?  We went over this place with a fine tooth comb.”  Marty wondered.

          “I’m sure you did but Bones is the best in the business, if there is anything to be found she’ll find it.”  Booth said.  They watched in silence as she scanned the area.

          “When you were digging did you find evidence of a struggle?”  Brennan called up.

          “No, we found drag marks and the CSI’s took pictures.  I’ll have to take you over there when you’re done up here.”  Brockman raised his voice so she could hear.

          “That indicates our victim was already dead when the killer buried him in the ground.  The ground froze and the bones froze to the dirt, that is what forced him to stand up but that wouldn’t force the rest of the body to stand up.  It would have slumped over.  Unless…”  Brennan stopped in mid-sentence. 

          “What is it, Bones?”  Booth asked.

          “I need to get back to the coroner’s office immediately.”  She said as she started to move toward the slope to climb back up.  Suddenly the ground beneath her gave way.  Booth could see her slipping and he quickly jumped into the hole. 

          “Seeley!”  She called out to him hanging onto the edge of the large hole that had opened up beneath her.  The FBI Agent flopped on his stomach and grabbed her hands as the rest of her dangled into a cavern below.  Marty slid into the hole and tried to help to pull the forensic anthropologist out.

          “Hold on Temperance.  I’ll get you out of there.”  Booth tried to reassure her.

          “Don’t let go.”  She said.  Suddenly, memories of the night on Brennan’s balcony flooded back to the FBI Agent.  Howard Epps had been hanging on for his life and he had failed to pull him back up.  Epps fell fifty feet to his death.  The nightmares plagued his sleep and now they were happening while he was awake. 

          “Booth!”  A shout from Brockman snapped him back to reality and he pulled on Brennan’s hands.  Marty grabbed her forearms and the two men managed to pull her up until her head was out in the daylight.  Booth grabbed her shoulders, while the Deputy hung onto her arms, and heaved with all his might and they fell backwards.  He wrapped his arms around her and he could feel her chest slowly return to normal.

          “Are you ok?”  He asked.  She just nodded.       


	4. Chapter 4

**Back in Idaho Springs, Saturday at 1:00 p.m.  MST  (3:00 p.m. EST)**

            Booth and Brennan sat in Beau Jo’s, Idaho Springs’ famous pizza restaurant, waiting for their order.  A silence had fallen between them due to the fact that Brennan was engrossed in the file she held and occasionally writing notes.  The small encounter earlier had been nerve racking for both of them and they both refused to talk about it.

          “Do you two want refills?”  Their waitress, Jane, asked them breaking the oppressive silence.

          “I do. Uh what about you Bones?”  Booth asked.  She nodded absent-mindedly and he thanked the waitress.  The FBI Agent was about to say something to his partner when her phone rang.

          “Brennan.”  She answered. 

          “Hey Bren, it’s Angela.”  Her friend’s voice came over the phone.

          “Hi Ange.  Did Hodgins find anything in the dirt?”  Brennan wondered.

          “We’ve sifted through most of it but have come up empty.”  The forensic artist said.

          “What about bug activity?”  She wondered.

          “About what you’d expect for the mountains; dead and frozen.  However I was able to use the Angelator on those photos you sent me.  I’m running the adjusted image through the missing persons database.”  Angela told her. 

          “All right.  Give me a call when you get anything more.”  Brennan said.

          “Listen, when are you going to send the body?  Cam is chomping at the bit to take a look at it.”  The forensic artist wondered.

          “She’ll get it when I’m done with it.  We’re still trying to figure out the best way to ship it without it completely defrosting.”  The forensic anthropologist’s tone was snappish.

          “Are you ok?  I know you have your issues with Cam but there’s no need to be like that to me.”  Angela said.

          “I’m sorry, I’m just tired and I still can’t figure out how the body remained upright through all the snow and everything.  Plus I almost fell and broke my leg today.”  Brennan told her.

          “What?”  Her friend asked.

          “I have to go, I’ll call you.”  Brennan hurriedly said and hung up the phone leaving Angela to wonder what was going on out in Colorado.

          “Bones, we need to talk.”  Booth said as the waitress brought over their refills.

          “Your pizza will be up in a minute.”  Jane told them.  Booth smiled and then turned his attention back to Brennan.

          “Booth, there’s nothing to talk about.  Deputy Brockman said that the area was full of old mine shafts.  I should have been more careful.  You were there and you saved me.  What else is there to talk about?”  She wondered.  Booth just shook his head.  Immediately Brennan regretted what she had said but it was too late to take it back.  Jane brought out the pizza and set it down on the table.

          “Here you go.  Enjoy!”  She smiled and walked away from the partners.  They ate in silence.  When they finished, Booth paid the bill and left a tip then they headed back to their hotel. 

          Brennan focused on the paperwork while Booth drove the short distance to their accommodations.  When they arrived he shut the engine off and turned to her.

          “Dr. Wyatt asked me whether or not I killed Epps or I was just there when he died.”  The FBI Agent stopped.

          “Booth you couldn’t…” he cut her off.

          “The fact is, I don’t know.  I don’t know if I let him fall or if I just couldn’t hold on.  I had you in my hands this afternoon and that came back to me.  I had to hold on, I couldn’t let you fall.  I…” This time Brennan interrupted him.  She leaned across the seat and pressed her lips to his.  When they separated, he smiled slightly.

          “Booth, I have the utmost confidence in you.  I knew that you wouldn’t let me fall.  You’ve always been there to stop me from falling and I couldn’t consider myself your partner if I didn’t do the same.”  She smiled.  This time he leaned over and kissed her. 

          “Come on let’s get inside before we freeze.”  He said.  The two exited the rented SUV and walked into the hotel.  Tim, the desk clerk, greeted them.

          “We’re expecting a foot of snow tonight.  By tomorrow we should be full up with skiers.”  He said.

          “Geez, does it ever get warm around here?”  Booth asked.

          “Only around late May til the beginning of October.”  Tim smiled.

          “Great.  I’ll go thaw out in my room then.”  The FBI Agent said.  Tim laughed and the partners headed up the stairs of the quaint little inn.  Brennan kept repeating Booth’s words in her head.  _Thaw out.  Thaw out._

          “We need to go to the morgue.”  She said.

          “What are you thinking?”  He asked.

          “I think I know how the body was kept upright.”  Brennan told him.  Quickly the two partners raced back down the stairs and headed to see Dr. Saunders.

          “You think that he was frozen and then stuck in the ground?”  The coroner wondered.

          “That would explain why the drag mark pictures I looked at only had one wide swath.  If the body was limp, it would have been hard to drag up the trail and then get it to stand up while burying it.  This why our killer could drag the body on it’s side and then he just planted it like you would a petunia.”  Brennan explained.

          “Incredible.  So we should check for freezer burn.”  Dr. Saunders said.

          “Unfortunately with the bad mountain weather, it will be difficult to tell the difference between freezer burn and the damage done by the mountain.  I’m thinking we should try to scrape under our victim’s nails and see if he was alive when he was put in the freezer.”  The forensic anthropologist told him.

          “All right, but how do you suggest pulling his fingers apart without breaking them off?”  Booth asked.

          “Well his left hand was already extended, that’s how Leo got the fingerprints but his right hand is clenched as if he were holding something.”  Brennan said.

          “I think we should use my heater gun A.K.A my receptionist’s hair dryer.”  Saunders smiled.

          “She keeps her hair dryer at work?”  Brennan asked.

          “You keep an extra set of clothes at the Jeffersonian.”  Her partner pointed out.

          “We use it when the water pipes freeze.”  Leo told them.

          “Kelly, where’d you put your hair dryer?” he called to the receptionist.

          “I’ve got it Doc.  Here you go.”  Kelly handed him the home appliance.  Once it was plugged in, Dr. Saunders turned it on low and slowly began to free up the victim’s fingers.  Brennan carefully began to peel the thawing appendages back until she saw what was inside the clenched fist.

          “What the hell is that?”  Booth asked.

          “It’s a finger.”  Brennan’s eyes went wide.

          “Our vic isn’t missing a finger.”  The G-man reminded her.

          “I know; this must be the killer’s finger.”  She said.      


	5. Chapter 5

**Idaho Springs, Sunday at 9:00 a.m.  MST  (11:00 a.m. EST)**

            “Ba da ba dum ba dum ba dum, ba da ta da ta da da dum.  Ba da ba dum ba dum ba dum ba da ta da da dum.”  The familiar ‘Entertainer’ tune played rousing Brennan from her sleep.  She muttered to herself as she reached over to the nightstand and answered her phone.

          “Brennan.”

          “Dr. Brennan, it’s Zach.  We received the body this morning and I wanted to know if you had any instructions.”

          “Zach you are a full fledged forensic anthropologist.  You should be able to discover what needs to be done.”  She told him.

          “But you always give me instructions.”  He said.  Brennan could tell from his tone that he was unsure what to do.

          “All right, I’ll give you instructions, this time.  Next time I want you to tell me what you think we should do.  Now there is a finger lodged in the victim’s right hand.  I want it removed and analyzed.  See if the fingerprint is useable and then have Angela run it through the database.  Have Hodgins work on the clothes and see what he can get off of them.  You should have received a small envelope with the body.  It contains scrapings from under the victim’s fingernails, have Hodgins analyze that as well.  Call me with any news you get.”  The senior forensic anthropologist ordered.

          “Yes, Dr. Brennan.”  Zach nodded on the other end of the phone, even though she couldn’t see it.  With that the call ended and Brennan placed her cell phone back on the nightstand.  Just then there was a knock on her door and she roiled her eyes.

          “Coming.”  She called out.  Slipping out of bed, Brennan grabbed her complimentary bathrobe and threw it on over Booth’s t-shirt.  Then walking to the door she opened it.

          “Morning Bones.”  Booth said with a smile on his face.

          “Morning.”  The forensic anthropologist replied as she let him in.

          “I thought we could get some breakfast and then head over to Sally Glenn’s apartment.  Deputy Brockman set it up so that her boyfriend, Richard Kidd will be there too.”  He told her.

          “Let me get cleaned up and then we can go.”  Brennan turned and undid her bathrobe, letting it fall to the floor.  Booth noticed the t-shirt she was wearing, it was one of his favorites.  The shirt came down just over her soft bottom and barely covered what her mother had given her.  Usually she wore it with some cute boxers but apparently those had never made it out of the suitcase.  Something inside him desperately wanted to spend most of the day in bed with her instead of working the case.

          “Bones, you’re killing me.”  The only response he got was the t-shirt being thrown outside the bathroom.  He plopped himself down on the bed to wait for her to come out.  When the shower water came on, he remembered the past weekend back in D.C.  He had jumped into the shower and didn’t hear her come into the bathroom.  Needless to say they both had to take another shower when they were done with the first one.  The FBI Agent grabbed the comforter, as it was the only stopping him from jumping in with her.  They had both agreed when they went out of town they couldn’t have that kind of fun until they were back in the capital.  The sound of the water hitting the tub stopped and Booth focused.  There was a murderer to catch; the fun would have to wait.

          Ten minutes passed and Brennan emerged from the bathroom with her hair still up in a towel.  This time she was fully dressed and Booth smirked.

          “What?  Is there something wrong with my outfit?”  She asked, looking down at her slacks and curve-hugging button down shirt.

          “Yeah, you’re wearing it.”  He said.  Brennan smirked and pulled the towel off her hair. 

          “Give me ten more minutes, I have to dry my hair.” 

          “All right, I’ll meet you at the car.”  Booth smiled and headed for the door.  He let himself out as the sounds of the hair dryer reached his ears.

**Sally Glenn’s Apartment, 10:00 am MST (12:00 pm EST)**

          “Would you like anything to drink?”  Sally asked as she went onto the kitchen.

          “No, thanks.”  Booth said.

          “None for me either.”  Brennan smiled.

          “Well then you can have a seat on the couch.  Rich will be by soon.”  The young woman told them.  Booth nodded and looked around the apartment.  The furniture was at least ten years old, suggesting that her parents gave her the old stuff and bought new.  There were pictures on the top of a nice chest of drawers, one he assumed was her and her parents, and a couple of just her and a man he assumed was Richard Kidd.

          “Miss Glenn, Mr. Kidd did know that we were coming.”  He said.

          “Oh yes, he might have had some car trouble.  Lately his truck has been acting up.  It doesn’t hold the oil like it used to.” Sally smiled as she sat down in a recliner across from them.  There was a knock on the door.

          “Speak of the devil.”  The young woman said.  She quickly got up and opened the door.

          “Sorry I’m late Sal.  My truck wouldn’t start and there appears to be a large puddle of fluid underneath it.  I’m going to have to work on it later.”  Richard told her. 

          “Oh well I’d like to introduce FBI Special Agent Booth and his partner, Dr. Brennan.”  His girlfriend pointed out their two guests.

          “How can we help?”  Kidd wondered.

          “Well I’d like to know what you two were doing up on the mountain on Friday.”  Booth started.

          “We both love to hike and since we work during the week we don’t usually get the chance.  However we both had Friday off so we went up and did some hiking it was just after the storm.  Things were melting due to the forty-degree weather and it can be very beautiful up there.  Besides it was our Valentine’s Day outing.”  Sally explained.

          “Sounds nice.”  Brennan commented.

          “It was until we found that body.”  Richard spoke up.

          “Did you recognize the man?”  Booth wondered.

          “I could barely see his face.  Plus my first concern was getting help.”  Richard answered. 

          “So you rushed down the mountain and got the police.”  The FBI Agent fished.

          “Yes, right away.  We’re surprised that you got here so fast.”  Sally said.  That comment was odd and Booth questioned her.

          “What do you mean?”

          “Well I watch CSI.  Doesn’t it normally take a while to run the victim’s fingerprints through the system and then call in the experts?”  Sally wondered.  At this neither Booth nor Brennan knew what to say.  They hadn’t realized how fast they had become involved.

          “Well when a specialist is needed they get to their destination as soon as possible.”  The FBI Agent covered quickly.

          “Thank you for your help.  We’ll be in touch if there is anything else.”  He continued.  Both Sally and Richard showed them to the door and the partners left.  Once they were out in the car, Booth turned to Brennan.

          “Something seems very wrong here.  How did Dr. Saunders run the fingerprints and send them to Denver, have them run the fingerprints, and then somehow get a hold of the FBI field office, who contacted D.C.?”

          “It does seem odd.  I’d like to talk to Dr. Saunders.  I’ve watched Angela enough to know that searching through the database can take longer than a few hours.  And did you notice Mr. Kidd’s right hand?”  Brennan asked.

          “It only had four fingers.”  Booth said.


	6. Chapter 6

**Idaho Springs’ Coroner’s Office Sunday at 11:00 a.m.  MST  (1:00 p.m. EST)**

            Booth and Brennan entered the Coroner’s Office to find the receptionist’s chair empty.  It was odd considering every time they entered the building, the warm smiling Kelly Mitchell met them.  Booth reached over and loosened the buckle on his shoulder holster.  It was possible that the receptionist was in the bathroom but something didn’t feel right. 

          “Bones get behind me.”  The FBI Agent kept his tone low and surprisingly the forensic anthropologist didn’t argue.  By this time in their partnership, she knew him well enough to know when his infamous gut was acting up.

          Booth removed his Glock from the holster and slowly opened the door to the autopsy room.  It appeared that no one was in the room, including Dr. Saunders.  It was Sunday but if he weren’t here things would have been locked up.  The FBI Agent made a sweep of the room with Brennan right behind him.  They had almost completed their task when they stumbled upon the coroner.

          Quickly, Brennan crouched down to feel for a pulse, noticing the pool of blood on the floor, and got nothing.  She rolled him over and saw the hole in his chest.

          “He’s dead.”  Booth half-asked, half stated as he holstered his weapon.

          “Judging from the bullet wound, I’d say death was instantaneous.”  Brennan stood up. 

          “If he’s dead where is the receptionist Mitchell?”  He wondered.

          “I don’t know.  There doesn’t appear to be any evidence of a struggle out in the office.”  She shook her head.

          “Let’s get the Sheriff over here.”  Booth said as he helped Brennan avoid the blood pool.  The two of them quickly left the building and headed down the street toward the Sheriff’s office.

          Ten minutes later, the Sheriff, Deputy Brockman, and the CSU team followed the partners into the Coroner’s Office.

          “This isn’t the way he should have gone.  He should have been an old man, in a nursing home.  Five more years and he was going to retire in five years.”  Sheriff Dippert shook his head.

          “Right now, his receptionist, Kelly Mitchell is missing.  There’s no sign of a struggle or anything.  It’s very possible that she is still alive.”  Booth told him.

          “I’ve put an APB out on her Dodge Neon and have sent some officers out to her house.  I also put an alert out, with her picture.”  Dippert said.

          “An autopsy needs to be performed as soon as possible.  There isn’t any exit wound, so the bullet must be lodged inside him.”  Brennan interrupted.

          “This is a crime scene now so you can’t do it here.”  Deputy Brockman stepped in.

          “It has to be done in here.  Nowhere else in town do we have the appropriate facilities.”  The Sheriff reminded him.

            “I don’t do autopsies, Cam does.”  Brennan told Booth.

            “There’s a coroner, over in Georgetown.  I’ll make a phone call.”  Sheriff Dippert said.  He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.

**Idaho Springs’ Coroner’s Office Sunday at 12:00 p.m.  MST  (2:00 p.m. EST)**

            Dr. Bateman arrived around noon, luckily Georgetown was only a few minutes away and there was no extensive travel involved.  He was very business-like and immediately got to work.  The Sheriff, Deputy Brockman, and the CSU team left the Coroner’s Office leaving Booth and Brennan to wonder what their next course of action was to be.

          “Sheriff Dippert says that he’s got everyone looking for Kelly Mitchell, so we need to focus on our first victim.”  Booth said.

          “We know that Richard Kidd is missing his right pinky and I found a frozen right pinky in our victim’s right hand.  We also know that Kidd was late to our appointment with the excuse of car trouble.”  Brennan reiterated some of the case information.

          “Sally Glenn and Richard Kidd certainly acted strange when we questioned them but I don’t see them working it out to kill Dr. Saunders and have all the evidence point right at Richard.”  Booth told her.

          “This is true.  That would seem to be completely illogical.  But are we sure that Dr. Saunders death and the frozen victim are even related?”  She wondered.

          “Who else would want to kill harmless old Dr. Saunders?”  Her partner gave her a confused look.

          “I don’t know, but until we know the cases are related we shouldn’t jump to any conclusions.”  Brennan reminded him.  Before Booth could say anything the familiar ‘Entertainer’ theme played and the forensic anthropologist answered it.

          “Brennan.”

          “Hey hon.  So what are you and Booth up to?” A familiar voice came over the phone.

          “Hi, Ange.  Any luck with our frozen victim?”  Brennan ignored the question.

          “Right down to business, I see.  Our victim’s name was Henry Wasmund.  He was a thirty-year-old mechanic, who went missing from Birmingham, Alabama a month ago.  According to the report, his girlfriend told police that he had gone to work one day and just never came home.  I took the scrapings under his fingernails and they revealed that there wasn’t any ice just some dead skin, that matched the victim’s DNA, and motor oil.”  Angela said.

          “So the he was probably unconscious or already dead when he went into the freezer.”  Brennan sighed.

          “Yes well Zach extracted some DNA from the frozen finger.  I’m running it through the system.  Also Zach is certain that the Henry died from a subdural hematoma caused by a blunt object.  He’s running the skull impressions through the database to try to get any matches.”  The forensic artist informed her friend. 

          “Excellent work.  Thanks.”  Brennan said.

          “Sure, anything for wrecking my weekend with Hodgy.  So what are you and Booth up to?”  Angela pried for information.

          “Waiting on the autopsy of the coroner, Dr. Saunders.”  Dr. Bateman emerged from the autopsy room and held up a baggie with a bullet in it.

          “Tell Zach, I’m sending a bullet and another body to him.  Talk to you later.”  Brennan hung up before Angela could say anything. 

          “Bye, nice talking to you.”  The forensic artist said to the dial tone. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Idaho Springs’ Police Station Sunday at 1:00 p.m.  MST  (3:00 p.m. EST)**

                Brennan filled in both her partner and the sheriff about the information that Angela had passed on.  Booth immediately called the Birmingham field office to request any files on the victim, Henry Wasmund.

          “Sheriff, do you know anyone in town that would have relatives in Alabama?”  Brennan wondered.

          “Not to my knowledge.  Most of the families in Idaho Springs have lived here all their lives.  Those that have come here have come from other cities in Colorado not Alabama.”  Dippert told her.

          “Well maybe we’ll get lucky with the bullet that was retrieved from Dr. Saunders.  I’m having Dr. Addy reverse-engineer the bullet.  Hopefully we can get some striations and match it to a gun in the system.”  She said.

          “Reverse-engineer?  Where are you sending Doc Saunders’ body?”  The sheriff got upset.

          “I have to send the Doctor’s body back to the Jeffersonian in order for Dr. Addy to perform the process.  In order to reverse-engineer the bullet, he needs any marks made on the sternum and the vertebra in order to do so.  Don’t worry when the case is over, his body will be shipped back here so his family can bury him properly.”  Brennan explained.  Sheriff Dippert was about to object when Booth interrupted.  He had just gotten off the phone.

          “According to the Birmingham field office, Wasmund’s case went cold after the local mobster, Salvatore Luciano, went missing as well.  Apparently Wasmund worked in a shop owned by the Luciano’s and had been suspected of doing their dirty work.”  The FBI Agent told them.

          “Luciano?  That name doesn’t ring a bell at all.”  Deputy Brockman said.

          “What are your newest residents in town?”  Booth asked.  Brockman quickly went to the nearest computer and punched up any records he could find on new residents. 

          “We have the Donnelly’s, the Gillette’s, Mark Johnson, and Kelly Mitchell.”  The deputy’s eyes went wide.

          “She couldn’t be involved.  She moved here six months ago.”  Sheriff Dippert said.

          “The Donnelly’s, Gillette’s, and Mr. Johnson all came before that.  We only have those three groups in the past year.”  Brockman reminded him.

          “So there is a good chance that Kelly Mitchell was the target.”  Dippert said.

          “It’s a possibility but that seems odd.  Why not kill her when they killed Dr. Saunders?  Their problem would have been solved.”  Booth mused.  Quickly he grabbed his cell phone and made another call, this time to the Denver field office. 

**The Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab Sunday at 4:00 p.m.  EST  (2:00 p.m. MST)**  

          A man wearing a brown uniform entered the lab and went through the security checkpoint without any difficulty.  He followed the security guard’s instructions toward the office of Dr. Temperance Brennan. 

          “Can I help you?”  Angela Montenegro asked.

          “I have a package for a Dr. Temperance Brennan.  The security office said that her office was over here.”  The deliveryman said.

          “Are you sure that it isn’t for a Dr. Zach Addy?  We’re expecting a package for him.”  Angela pressed.

          “No, it says to Dr. Temperance Brennan, from her biggest fan.”  The UPS man told her. 

          “All right, just leave it in her office over there.”  The forensic artist smiled and pointed out where to drop off the package. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Back in Idaho Springs, Sunday at 3:00 p.m.  MST  (5:00 p.m. EST)**

                The police were still looking for Kelly Mitchell while Booth waited for the files being faxed over to the station.  Brennan had walked back to the hotel to grab her files.  There was something bothering her about the strange disappearance of Dr. Saunders’ receptionist and a frozen man from Birmingham, Alabama.  Was there a connection?  What was Henry Wasmund doing all the way out here?  Why did Dr. Saunders have to die?  All these questions and the bodies weren’t leading them anywhere.  The possibility of Zach missing something wasn’t that probable, he was a very capable forensic anthropologist.  Still something was bothering her.

          “Hi, Dr. Brennan.  How’s it going?”  Tim, the desk clerk, asked as, she walked into the lobby of the hotel. 

“Not too bad.”  She smiled and walked up the stairs that led to the landing and her room.  The three-floor hotel was small and walking up the stairs was nice instead of having to ride the elevator.  It seemed as if this small quaint place had its secrets. 

          Inserting the key into her door, she turned the key in the lock.  The door opened, she walked inside and flicked on the light.  Immediately she noticed that something was out of place.  She had left her laptop case on the dresser with her laptop still in it.  Now the laptop lay on the floor in pieces and the case lay discarded a few feet away from the broken computer.  Her instincts told her to back out of the room and find Booth.  She listened and carefully backed herself toward the door when suddenly the world went black.

          FBI Special Agent Booth gathered the papers that were being faxed over the machine.  Apparently the case file on Henry Wasmund was pretty long and some of it was for FBI personnel eyes only.  This guy had either been doing a lot of dirty work or was constantly in the wrong place at the wrong time.  There were five suspected murders, three break-ins, and at least ten items pilfered.  However, the file on Kelly Mitchell was apparently non-existent.  The agent at the Denver field office, Ian Just, said that he couldn’t find anything on her and that he would call as soon as he did.  His gut told him that something was up and he immediately made a call to Sam, his gopher back in D.C.  Sam promised to call him as soon as he got something.  His gut told him that in some strange way that everything was connected.

          “Got all your paperwork?”  Deputy Brockman asked.

          “Yeah, I’m going over to the hotel.  Call me if you get anything on Kelly Mitchell.”  Booth said.

          “As soon as I know, you’ll know.”  The sheriff’s deputy smiled and walked back over to his desk.  The whole encounter seemed harmless but something made Booth’s gut do a flip-flop.  There could be a dirty cop and that would explain why they were led in the wrong direction with Richard Kidd.  Of course it was a real possibility that maybe Dr. Saunders wasn’t all that he seemed to be either.  His ‘trust no one’ feeling tugged at the back of his head.  Brennan might be the only one who he could trust.  Quickly, he grabbed his things and headed out to the rented SUV.  He fired it up and drove it back down the street to the hotel.  Then he parked it and went inside.

          “Hey Agent Booth.  Case going well?”  Tim asked.

          “Well I can’t really discuss it.  Deputy Brockman might be calling later so if you could get me when he does, I’d appreciate it.”  Booth said.

          “Sure no problem.”  The desk clerk continued to smile as Booth turned and headed up the stairs.  He stopped at Brennan’s door and knocked on it.  When she didn’t answer, he called her name; still no response.   The FBI Agent banged again on the door, louder than before.  When no reply came, he pulled his Glock 22 from his shoulder holster and kicked the door in.  Immediately, he saw his partner’s limp body on the floor.  He kneeled down and checked for a pulse.  When he was satisfied that her pulse was strong enough, he made a sweep of the room and bathroom before tending to his partner. 

          “I need medical assistance at the Pine Tree Hotel room 204.  Dr. Brennan has been attacked.”  Booth called Deputy Brockman.

          “I’ll send EMS over immediately.”  Marty told him and hung up.  Booth carefully tried to wake his partner and she began to stir.

          “Booth?”  She asked almost too quiet for him to hear. 

          “It’s all right.  Help is on the way.”  He told her.  Brennan blinked slowly and tried to sit up.

          “I hardly think that’s necessary.  I just received a blow to my cranium, I’m not bleeding or anything.”  Her voice became stronger as Booth pulled her back against his chest.

          “You need to get checked out.  Besides it seems whoever was in your room did a number on your computer.  Things are getting dangerous around here.”  The concern was evident in his voice.  

          “Nothing I can’t handle.”  She smiled.  The sound of footsteps on the stairs alerted them to the incoming assistance.


	9. Chapter 9

**Dr. Brennan’s Hotel Room, Sunday at 4:15 p.m.  MST  (6:15 p.m. EST)**

                “Well Dr. Brennan, you’ll be fine.  I imagine you’ll have a bit of a bump but there doesn’t appear to be any serious damage.”  The friendly EMT told her.

          “Thank you.”  She smiled at him as she held the ice pack she’d been handed to her head.  He smiled back before leaving the room.

          “This scene seems very strange.”  Sheriff Dippert commented.

          “I’ll say.  Why break the laptop instead of taking it with you?  If I was after information, I would want the computer to run it on.”  Brockman said.

          “Unless the thief wasn’t after the computer.”  Booth hypothesized.  “Bones, where did you keep your files?” 

          “They’re in my laptop bag or at least they were.”  She said.  Her partner grabbed the bag and opened it up.

          “Well they aren’t in here now.  You had them backed up on your computer, right?”  He wondered.

          “Yes, I did.  It seems the thief was very thorough.”  Brennan sighed. 

          “So it would seem.”  Sheriff Dippert spoke up as he looked at the parts of the laptop. 

          “I’d like to send the laptop back to the Jeffersonian and see if they can’t recover the hard drive.”  The forensic anthropologist said.

          “All right.  I’ll have CSU print it and box it up for the trip.”  The sheriff nodded. “In the meantime, I suggest you grab your personal belongings and have Tim give you a new room.” 

          “Thank you Sheriff.”  Brennan smiled slightly and the two lawmen left with what was left of the laptop.

     “Well should I grab your things while you see if Tim will help you get another room; or are you not up for that?”  Booth wondered.

          “I’ll be fine.  You wouldn’t mind grabbing my stuff?”  She wondered.

          “And pass up the chance to see your underwear?”  He smiled trying to lighten the mood.  Brennan rolled her eyes and walked out of the room.  She was only gone a few minutes when Booth’s phone rang.  It quickly picked it up and said,

          “Booth.”

          “Booth, it’s Sam.  I have the info you wanted.  You owe me big.”  The guy on the other end of the phone said.

          “Why is that, Sam?”  Booth wondered.

          “It turns out that your Kelly Mitchell is actually Sarah Kemp.  She’s hiding out in Idaho Springs as part of her cover through the Witness Protection Program.”  Sam told him.

          “Witness protection from who?”  The Agent asked.

          “Salvatore Luciano.  Turns out the mobster was running drugs from Miami to Birmingham and Sarah witnessed the murder of one of the drug runners at the Miami restaurant where she worked.  The runner was skimming drugs off the top of the runs and replacing it with powered sugar.  Luciano himself flew from Alabama to Florida and killed the guy.”  The information man spilled.

          “Great.  Thanks again Sam.”  Booth had figured it would have to be that complicated.  With a witness missing, the US Marshals would be called in.  They were good at their jobs but some times they shot first and asked questions later.  Quickly, he dialed the number of the Marshal’s office in D.C. and explained the situation.

          “I’m sorry Dr. Brennan but with the impending snow supposedly totaling around three feet, I’ve been taking reservations all day.  We’re full up.”  Tim said.

“So what am I supposed to do?”  Brennan asked, trying to ignore the pain in her head.

“For now, I guess you could stay with your partner, Agent Booth.”  The desk clerk hoped that she would be ok with that.

“All right, I hope he likes sleeping on the floor.”  The forensic anthropologist smirked.  She turned and started to head for the stairs when another though hit her.

“Tim, did you see anyone you didn’t recognize today?” 

“Well it was pretty busy earlier and I really wasn’t paying attention except to what was in front of me.  Sorry.”  He told her.  Brennan nodded and slowly walked back up the stairs.  Her head was pounding and she really wanted to lie down. 

She reached her room to find Booth still packing her stuff up.  Quickly, she helped him grab what remained and the two headed off down the hall to Booth’s room.

“Tim says that there is three feet of snow on the way and he’s all booked.  Look’s like someone is sleeping on the floor tonight.”   Slightly mischievous grin crossed Brennan’s face.  However the look on Booth’s face made it quite obvious, he was in no mood for jokes.  He opened the door to his room and they walked in.  Shutting the door with his foot, Booth set down the suitcases in his hands.

“Turns out that Kelly Mitchell is really Sarah Kemp.  She’s here being protected by Witness Protection against our mobster Salvatore Luciano.”  The FBI Agent told her.

“So you think it’s no coincidence that Henry Wasmund was up here on Pike’s Peak.”  Brennan’s mood sobered immediately. 

“The way I see it is, Sarah escapes Luciano’s clutches in Florida and the Marshals put her up in Colorado thinking she’ll be safe.  Somehow Luciano finds out that she’s in Idaho Springs and sends Wasmund to do the job.  When he doesn’t hear from Wasmund a few days later, the mobster takes off to take care of business.”  Booth theorized.

“We can’t just make assumptions without any proof.”  The forensic anthropologist said.

“Hear me out, Bones.  Luciano confronts Wasmund and kills him.  He tries to bury his kill up on the mountain but he finds the work too hard and leaves him half-buried.  Then Luciano lays low until he hears that the body of a half frozen man is found.  He panics and heads down to the morgue to see what they found out and runs into Sarah.  She recognizes him and he has to act fast. So he kills Dr. Saunders and kidnaps Sarah.”  Booth finished.

“All right but what about the finger I found in Wasmund’s hand?”  Brennan asked as she lay down on the bed.

“It must be Luciano’s. Anyway we’ll have an extra two sets of hands on this one as the U.S. Marshals are sending two agents up since a witness under their protection has gone missing.”  He explained.  The forensic anthropologist nodded and put her hands over her face.

“You ok?”  Booth asked.

“I have a very large headache.”  She said. 

“Let me make it all better.”  He replied.


	10. Chapter 10

**Agent Booth’s Hotel Room, Monday at 8:00 a.m.  MST  (10:00 a.m. EST)**

                The sounds of water hitting the bathtub woke Brennan from her sleep.  She rolled over and found that she was alone in bed.  Slowly, she sat up and pulled her back up against the headboard.  The headache she’d had the night before was gone and she smiled at the memories of last night. 

          Booth had crawled onto the bed and pulled her close to him.  He carefully brushed her hair from her face and kissed her forehead.  They lay in silence until she fell asleep comforting herself with the fact that her head was on his chest and that the pain would go away. 

          “Morning Bones.  How ya feeling?”  Booth’s voice broke her from her reverie.

          “Better.”  She smiled.  “Thanks for last night.” 

          “Hey you obviously needed the sleep and besides I needed the contact.”  He smirked as he moved from the bathroom doorway over to the closet bar where his suits hung.  She gave him a look.

          “Well I guess I’d better get ready for the day.”  Brennan got out of bed and looked down at herself.

          “My, my Agent Booth seems you were slacking in your duties.  Only my shoes and socks appear to be missing from my ensemble.”  She was wearing her shirt and slacks still.

          “Oh trust me Dr. Brennan.  I had every intention of stripping you done to your skivvies but I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to control myself.”  He turned to her and moved his eyebrows up and down a few times.  The two moved closer to each other, Booth still only clad in his towel and Brennan fully dressed in yesterday’s attire.  Suddenly his hands found her hair and her hands found his broad muscled naked chest.  Their lips found their own way as they enveloped each other.  Tongues darted in and out, tasting whatever they touched.  Brennan moaned slightly and Booth wanted nothing more to push them a little farther when the familiar Entertainer song played. 

          “That’ll be Angela.”  He said.  Brennan let out a sigh and went to find her phone while Booth rooted around his suitcase for some underwear. 

          “Brennan.”  The forensic anthropologist answered the phone after finding it in her coat pocket.

          “Hey hon, I’m not disturbing anything am I?”  Brennan desperately wanted to tell her ‘yes’ but she didn’t.

          “Did you get the DNA results from the finger?” 

          “All right, let’s get right to business.  The DNA came back a match to a Salvatore Luciano also conveniently missing from Birmingham, Alabama.”  The forensic artist said.

          “Right and any luck with Dr. Saunders’ body?”  Brennan smiled as she felt Booth’s lips on her neck. 

          “For that I’m handing it over to Zach.”  Angela told her and the next thing she heard was the forensic anthropologist’s voice.  Booth moved away from her and continued to get dressed.

          “Dr. Brennan, I was able to get striations from reverse-engineering the bullet.  I had Angela run the marks through the database and found that it matches a 9mm round that was used in the unsolved murder of a John Welsh in Birmingham, Alabama.”  He said.

          “Excellent work, Zach.  Can you put Cam on the line?”  Brennan wondered.  A few seconds later, the Head of Forensics familiar voice came over the phone.

          “What’s up Dr. Brennan?” 

          “My laptop was destroyed and the case files were stolen from my hotel room yesterday.  I’m having the local police send it to the Jeffersonian.”  The forensic anthropologist explained.

          “They were stolen?  Do you have any backup copies?”  Cam asked.

          “I have backup copies on my flash-drive but no computer to run them on.  As far as the paper copies, I’m not sure if we’ll ever get them back.”  Brennan said.

          “All right, I’ll send another laptop out pronto.  It should be there by tomorrow.”  Dr. Saroyan promised.

          “Thank you.  Now Booth and I have to meet with a couple of U.S. Marshals.”  Before Cam could ask what was going on, Brennan hung up and turned to Booth who was now dressed in one of his suits.

          “Well it seems that that infamous gut of yours was right.  The DNA from the frozen finger matched Luciano’s and Zach successfully reverse-engineered bullet to match a 9mm round from the unsolved murder of a John Welsh down in Birmingham.”  She told him.

          “So there is a good chance that Luciano murdered this John Welsh, too.  Well the U.S. Marshals should be at the police station in an hour.  Why don’t you get ready and we’ll grab breakfast with them.  Hopefully they can explain why Luciano managed to slip through their fingers.”  Booth said.  Just then there was a knock on the door, and the FBI Agent went to answer it as Brennan darted into the bathroom for a quick shower. 

          “Agent Booth, you have a call downstairs from Sheriff Dippert.”  Tim said. 

          “All right, thanks.   I’ll be right down.”  Booth closed the door behind him.  He quickly followed the desk clerk downstairs to the phone.

          “Booth.”  The FBI Agent said as e picked up the receiver.

          “Sheriff Dippert here.  We found Kelly Mitchell’s car abandoned just outside of town.  There’s blood in the passenger seat.”  Booth let out a loud sigh at this news.

          “All right, I’m meeting with the U.S. Marshals in just under an hour.  Call me on my cell with any more information you receive.”  The G-man gave the Sheriff the number and then headed back upstairs.    


	11. Chapter 11

**Idaho Springs Police Station, Monday at 9:00 a.m.  MST  (11:00 a.m. EST)**

                United States Marshal Joe Gillette exited the requisitioned Crown Vic from the driver’s side while his partner Sheila Ryder exited the passenger side.   Gillette stood at six foot three with broad shoulders.  His well-muscled frame was covered with a good pair of Wrangler jeans and a t-shirt that said “Only in Miami” with an outline of a woman wearing only a bikini.  Sheila had shaken her head at the out fit but he said he wasn’t about to wear a suit on the long flight.  His partner had worn a pair of navy slacks and a button down dress shirt.  She stood at only five foot six and was used to her partner’s wise cracks about her height.

          The two entered the police station and were immediately met by Deputy Brockman.  He gave the Marshals a look and then led them to a small conference room.  The Sheriff’s Deputy opened the door and two people met them.

          “I’m FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth and this is my partner Dr. Temperance Brennan.”  Booth introduced.

          “Marshal Joe Gillette and this little lady next to me is Marshal Sheila Ryder.”  The two men shook hands while the woman exchanged handshakes as well.

          “So what do you have for us?”  Gillette wondered.

          “This morning, Sheriff Dippert’s men found Sarah Kemp’s car abandoned with blood on the passenger side.  We’re awaiting test results to see if it’s hers.”  Booth explained.

          “Damn.  I promised her she’d be safe out here.  How did this happen?”  Gillette cursed.

          “We were hoping you had the answer to that.”  Brennan spoke up.

          “There is no way Luciano could have figured out that we sent Sarah up here without someone giving him a heads up.”  Ryder shook her head. 

          “It had to be that scum-bucket of a lawyer that Luciano hired.  That guy was as slippery as a snake.  The Federal Prosecutor didn’t want to move forward with the case because witnesses against Luciano have a tendency to disappear.  He wanted enough evidence to nail the bastard to the wall and hopefully keep Sarah alive in the process.  So a surveillance detail was put on Luciano and Sarah was sent out here.  Somehow he slipped through the detail’s fingers. ”  Her partner said.

          “Well however he found out, Sarah Kemp’s life is in danger.  I don’t want to be the one examining her body.”  Brennan interrupted.  Just then Booth’s cell phone rang and he excused himself.

          “My partner believes that Luciano is not one his own.  First the murder of Henry Wasmund, then the subsequent murder of Dr. Saunders and kidnapping of Sarah Kemp.  There is also the matters of my case files being stolen from my hotel room and of a missing right fifth metacarpal.”  The forensic anthropologist continued.  The dumbfounded looks on the Marshals’ faces told her that she said something confusing.

          “What’s missing?”  Ryder asked.

          “The right fifth metacarpal from Luciano’s hand.  I had my team back at the Jeffersonian analyze the DNA from the finger when I discovered it in Henry Wasmund’s frozen right hand.”  Brennan explained as she showed off her pinky finger.

          “So somehow Wasmund fought with Luciano and got his finger.”  Gillette pondered the information.  Just then Booth came back into the room.

          “The blood inside Sarah Kemp’s car isn’t hers.  I had the Sheriff send a sample of it to the Jeffersonian.  Hopefully Angela can tell us whose it is.”  He said.

          “Then she fought back.  I always knew she was a fighter.”  Gillette smiled.

          “I guess the question becomes why didn’t she head back to town after she escaped from her captor?”  Ryder wondered.   

          “Sheriff Dippert’s men are searching the surrounding area to see if maybe…” Booth didn’t finish his sentence as his phone rang again.  This time he didn’t bother to leave the room.

          “Booth.”  He answered.  There was a long silence and then the FBI Agent thanked the person on the other end and then hung up.

          “That was Sheriff Dippert again.  They found Sarah Kemp.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Denver Health Medical Center, Denver, Colorado, Monday 12:00 p.m.  MST  (2:00 p.m. EST)**

          Booth and Gillette headed over to the nurses station while Brennan and Ryder waited for Sarah to wake up.  It was evident from all the bruising that she had been beaten, the poor woman had been found locked in the trunk of her car.  The deputies had had to rip out the back seat in order to check the trunk as someone had tampered with the lock on the outside rendering the key useless.

 Brennan had requested to check the X-Rays and the doctor in charge assured her that she could take a look.  The machines beeping all around reminded her of the time she spent in the hospital and the times she had come to see Booth when he’d been blown up.  A shiver went down her spine and Ryder took notice.

          “Are you ok?”  She asked.

          “I’m fine.”  Brennan shook the thoughts from her mind.

          “Is that your way of saying you don’t want to talk about it?”  Ryder pushed.  The forensic anthropologist was given a reprieve when their partners walked into the room.  Booth pulled Brennan aside and told her what was going on.

          “The doctor says that she’s touch and go.  He believes she was beaten over the head with something heavy and that same object was used to beat the rest of her.  The X-Rays will be available in a little while.”  He explained. 

          “So what now?”  Brennan asked.

          “Hopefully she’ll wake up and we can find out what happened.  In the meantime, we have to wait on Angela to see whose blood it is.”  Booth gave a tight smile.  The two rejoined the Marshals.

          “Now that Sarah is in the hospital, we have to put a guard here.  Do you think the Denver police can spare a few deputies?”  Gillette asked.

          “Hopefully they can, in the mean time we have to hope she wakes up and tells us what happened.  With all that blood in the car someone else is dead and she might be the only one who knows who it is.”  Booth said.  At that moment, Brennan’s cell phone rang and she quickly excused herself.

          “Brennan.”

          “Hi hon; we received your laptop or what was left of it and we just finished running the prints that the Sheriff sent with them.  One set belongs to Luciano and another set belongs to a Mark Johnson who lives in Idaho Springs.”  Angela told her.

          “There were two sets of fingerprints?  Why would two men need to trash my room?”  The forensic anthropologist wondered.

          “I have no idea but they really wanted to be thorough.  You know Billy who works over in the tech department?  He says it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to recover most of the hard drive.”  Angela said.

          “Thanks, Ange.  You have a blood sample coming your way; I need analyzed immediately.  I’m also going to try to send you some X-Rays; I need Zach and Hodgins to see if they can’t identify what was used to beat Sarah Kemp’s head in.”  Brennan told her.

          “Why not send her body?”  The forensic artist asked.

          “Well for now she’s still using it.”  Her friend clarified. 

          “Oh, I didn’t realize…” Angela didn’t finish.

          “It’s all right.  We’re used to dealing with death.  It was a logical assumption on your part.”  Brennan said.

          “If that was supposed to make me feel better, it didn’t.  I’ll talk to you later.”  For the first time, Angela hung up on Brennan.  The forensic anthropologist seemed confused and turned around to tell Booth what she had learned.

**Mark Johnson’s Apartment, Idaho Springs 1:30 p.m.**

          “Mr. Johnson, this is FBI Special Agent Booth.  Open up, I need to talk to you.”  The second warning went unheard, so he tried it one more time.

          “Maybe he isn’t home.”  Brennan said.  He ignored that comment.

          “Mr. Johnson!  I’m giving you until the count of five before I’m coming in!”  Again silence, so Booth tried the handle.  He found it locked and decided to remove his Glock from its spot in his holster.  Dr. Wyatt warned him about shooting things.

          “1…” Nothing.

          “2…” Still nothing.

          “3…” Booth couldn’t take it and the words ‘four’ and ‘five’ never made it out of his mouth.  He aimed his Glock at the lock on the door and fired.

          “That’s twice, I’ve had to do that.  I’m in so much trouble.”  The G-man mumbled under his breath.  Brennan just stood there watching him.

“Stay behind me Bones.”  He used his foot to kick the door in and looked around the apartment.  It appeared to be empty but his sniper skills reminded him to never take himself off alert.  He swept through the kitchen and living room.  Moving down the hall, he found the bathroom empty as well.  That left the bedroom at the end of the hall and the bedroom right across from the bathroom.  That’s when he heard a noise coming from the master bedroom.  Quickly he went to the door and pushed it in with his shoulder. 

          “Freeze!  Put your hands where I can see them!”  Booth shouted.  The man stopped and put his hands up.  Booth grabbed his handcuffs and handed them to Brennan.  She quickly cuffed the man and spun him around.

          “Are you Mark Johnson?”  Booth asked as he holstered his weapon.

          “No, I’m Mark’s cousin, Jay.  I was just here to get my stuff.”  The man griped.

          “Uh huh.  Come on buddy.  Let’s go.”  The FBI Agent grabbed Jay’s shoulder and pulled him toward the door.


	13. Chapter 13

**Beau Jo’s, Monday 5:00 p.m.  MST  (7:00 p.m. EST)**

          Booth and Brennan sat at their table awaiting their order.  The pizza place was hopping, despite the fact that it was Monday.

          “It seems like we’re going in circles.”  Booth sighed as he grabbed his iced tea and gulped down some of it. 

          “Well who knew that Jay was actually Mark’s cousin?”  Brennan sighed as she sipped her water.

          “I really thought that his story about not hearing me shouting was a load of crap but him being half deaf explains that.”  The FBI Agent was getting frustrated.

          “Well he hadn’t seen Mark and no one really knows where he is.  According to Angela, it was Mark Johnson’s blood in the car.”  Brennan said.

          “It’s safe to say he’s dead.  All that blood, there’s no way he’s alive.”  Booth took another gulp of iced tea and set the empty cup aside. 

          “Normally I wouldn’t jump to conclusions but I’d have to say your right.  The amount of blood in the car indicated that an artery had to have been punctured.  I guess I don’t understand why an upstanding citizen like Mark Johnson was mixed up with Salvatore Luciano.”  The forensic anthropologist wondered.

          “It’s my guess that Johnson didn’t realize what he was getting into.  He was the local computer repair guy.  It’s very possible that the reason his fingerprints were on your laptop was that Luciano tried to get him to break into it.  I mean your computer was password protected right?”  Booth asked.  Before Brennan could answer the waitress brought their order over and promised to refill Booth’s iced tea.

          “It was password protected.  So Johnson thinks he’s helping a guy who forgot his password and realizes that the computer is in fact mine.  They fought, which could explain the mess in my hotel room.”  Brennan said as she took the piece of pizza that Booth served her.

          “Ok, then Luciano wins and conks Johnson on the head.  He’s about to take care of computer guy when you open your door.  In order to get out of the room, he hits you on the head.  The next thing to do is get Johnson out of there because when he comes to, he’ll spill the beans about the guy he was trying to help.  But how did he get Johnson out of the room and out the front door without me running into him or Tim at the desk seeing him?”  Booth wondered as he took a bite of the pepperoni pizza.  Silence fell between the partners for a moment until they both came to the same realization.

          “Luciano is in our hotel.”  The two said at the same time.  As if to answer their thoughts, Booth heard a pop-pop-popping noise that he could never mistake.

          “Everyone get down!”  He yelled as the glass in the front window shattered.  Screaming erupted inside the pizza parlor and people tried to take cover.  Booth grabbed Brennan and used his body to shield her from the flying glass and ricocheting bullets.  Just as quickly as the shooting started it was over.  Quickly Booth let go of Brennan and raced to what was left of the window to at least get a plate number of the car.  He caught the last three digits and burned them into his memory.  Then he pulled out his cell phone and dialed the Sheriff’s Office.

**Beau Jo’s, Monday 5:30 p.m.  MST  (7:30 p.m. EST)**

          The emergency vehicles arrived within a couple minutes of Booth’s phone call.  Brennan was busy triaging the wounded, when they arrived.  The EMT’s quickly got to work and the forensic anthropologist did her best to help.  Those with the most serious wounds were immediately rushed to the heli-pad to be flown to Denver Health Medical Center while others who only sustained minor cuts and lacerations were easily taken care of down at the small ambulatory center near the police station.

          “How bad is it?”  Booth asked as Brennan joined him.

          “Two were killed instantly, three were severely wounded, and ten received minor injuries.”  She told her partner.  “The two that were killed were the father and son sitting the closest to the window.  The father was struck in the chest and the son was struck in the head.  The prognosis for the three critically wounded patients is uncertain.  One was shot in the leg near the femoral artery; the second was shot in the stomach, and the third was struck in the lower abdomen.”  Brennan continued.

“Damn.”  The FBI Agent cursed.  That’s when Brennan noticed the blood on Booth’s collar.

“You’re bleeding.”  She said as she pulled his collar away from his neck.  Booth reached up to his neck and felt the warm liquid. 

“I wondered what that was.”  He seemed very unconcerned.  Brennan took a look and found some small pieces of glass lodged in the cut. 

“These need to come out.  Come on; let’s get you to the ambulatory center.  I could pull those pieces out but I don’t have anything to bandage it with.”  She told him.  The two moved from the depressing sight around them and got into the SUV.  Brennan told Booth she was driving and strangely he put up no objection.  The ride was silent to the center and so was the wait.  Booth’s injury wasn’t a top priority as the cut wasn’t so severe.  Brennan leaned over and whispered in Booth’s ear.

“Do you need to talk about it?”  She had recalled his X-Rays when he had been blown up.  The injuries had been consistent with shielding someone, later when he told her about his friend; she knew that today’s experience was one that would bring back bad memories.  His response was to take her hand in his and gave it a squeeze.

“We’ll talk later, but thank you.”  He kissed her temple and they awaited their turn.    


	14. Chapter 14

**Pine Tree Hotel, Monday 8:00 p.m.  MST  (10:00 p.m. EST)**

          Booth and Brennan finally got back from the ambulatory center and the FBI Agent immediately went to Tim to discuss any residents of the hotel that seemed to be acting strange.  Brennan went ahead up to their room and went inside.  She put down her purse on the nightstand and got down on her hands and knees.  Reaching under the bed, the forensic anthropologist pulled out her gun.  The airport workers had been all too happy to let her through with it as soon as they saw she was flying with Booth.  The last thing they wanted was Cullen to rip them a new one again about giving his agents a hard time about flying.  In order to avoid such troubles, Homeland Security had given the airport a list with photos of FBI Agents and their partners.  She had been very impressed that they put her on the list but after the Hamid Masruk case, she figured that they understood her value, not only as a squint but also as a valuable asset to the government.  Slipping the weapon back into her purse, she made her way to the hall.  Locking the door behind her, Brennan went downstairs to meet up with Booth.

          “Like I said, the guy seems to be off.  He always wears gloves whenever I see him.  I mean inside and everything.”  Tim was explaining to Booth.

          “All right.  Call the sheriff’s department and tell him I’m going to check this out.”  The G-man said.

          “Will do, Agent Booth.”  Tim quickly picked up the phone that was under the desk and made a phone call.  The partners spoke in hushed tones as they climbed the staircase. 

          “So where are we going?”  Brennan asked. 

          “We?  _I’m_ going to check out room 210.  You are going to call the Marshals and see if they have any more information about Sarah Kemp’s condition.”  Booth corrected.

          “Oh no you don’t.  I’m not letting go in there alone.”  She pulled her weapon from her purse.  Inwardly, Booth smiled to himself.

          “It’s dangerous and I’m not going to have him try to finish you off like he did this afternoon.”  Her partner was adamant.

          “All the more reason for me to finish him off first.”  Brennan smirked.  Realizing that she wasn’t about to back down, Booth kissed her temple.

          “I knew I loved you for a reason.”  He smiled and Brennan was about to ask him what he meant when a door opened and a man walked out from room 208. 

          “Sir, please get back in your room.”  Booth flashed his badge and the man did as he was told.  Then the partners advance to room 210 and Booth stood in front of it while Brennan took the position against the wall next to the doorframe.  _On three_ , he mouthed to her.  The forensic anthropologist nodded and Booth began the silent count.

          _1…  2…  3!_    The FBI Agent used his powerful leg and kicked the door in.  Immediately the two rushed in and found the room empty.  Booth motioned that he was going to sweep the bathroom while Brennan checked the rest of the room. 

          The FBI Agent looked around the bathroom.  It was empty and it appeared that any personal belongings that should have been in the room were gone.  No toothbrush, soap, shampoo, or anything.  He exited the bathroom and found Brennan looking disappointed.

          “His suitcases and everything are gone.”  She said.

          “As are his personal affects from the bathroom.  He probably spilt after the drive-by.”  Booth kicked the bed in disgust. 

          “So now what?”  Brennan wondered.  Her partner’s answer was to pick up his cell phone and called the sheriff.

          “Do you have any hits on the partial license plate, I gave you?”  He asked.

          “I ran it through and called Denver.  The plate matches Mark Johnson’s car, a 2000 Chevy Impala.  The guys in Denver put a national APB out.  Any luck in the hotel?”  Sheriff Dippert wondered.

          “No.  It appears he took off.”  Booth told him.

          “I’ll call you if I get anything.”  Dippert said and the call ended.

**The Woods outside Idaho Springs, 9:00 p.m. MST (11:00 p.m. EST)**

                A man was dousing a car with gasoline.  The dead body in the trunk needed to be gotten rid of and what better way to keep the FBI Agent and that forensic anthropologist busy.  He had killed the man and splashed his blood all over the inside of that stupid chick from Miami’s car.  He hoped that would throw them off and if it didn’t then maybe he got lucky with that drive by earlier.         

          He pulled a lighter from his pocket and lit the rag that he held in his hand.  Throwing the rag inside, he backed away and watched as the car was lit with flame within seconds.  That piece of evidence would be destroyed soon, as he turned and walked back toward Idaho Springs.  Thinking of evidence made him realize that they still had his finger and his prints on the computer.  It had been stupid to remove his gloves but he didn’t want to tip off the computer guy as to the real owner of the computer.  He would have to see if he could get those back.


	15. Chapter 15

**Crime Scene in the Woods, Tuesday 9:00 a.m.  MST  (11:00 a.m. EST)**

                It had taken most of the night to get the fire under control.  Firefighters were still sweeping the edges of the blaze that had taken on a life of its own after destroying the car and spreading to surrounding trees.  Before it was all said and done, almost four acres of trees had been destroyed. 

          Booth and Brennan walked up the path toward Sheriff Dippert.  Angela had called to tell them that from the X-rays Zach and Hodgins believed that it could have been a tire iron that caused the impressions on Sarah Kemp’s head but without the actual skull it would be impossible for a definitive answer.  Brennan’s new laptop had arrived and the postman had run it over to the hotel before the partners headed out to the crime scene.

          “Agent Booth, Dr. Brennan.”  Sheriff Dippert nodded as the two reached him.

          “What do we have?”  Booth wondered.

          “We have a car that was set on fire.  In the trunk of the car, we found what appears to be left a body.  I’m going to have the forensic team take the car back to their garage when you’re done with the body.”  The Sheriff told them.  Brennan only nodded and headed over to the popped trunk.  She saw what was left of the body and knew this would be messy.  _I’m so glad I brought a set of overalls with me_ , she thought to herself as she pulled on her rubber gloves.

          “So how did someone get a car up here?”  Booth asked the Sheriff.

          “The car is about a quarter of the way up an ATV trail.  The part it went over wasn’t bad terrain until it starts going up higher.  Whoever was driving probably had to stop up here because the trail narrows.”  Dippert explained.

          “Booth!”  His partner called to him.  The FBI Agent and the Sheriff rushed over to her.

          “What is it, Bones?”  Booth inquired, trying to keep his breakfast down from the horrible stench emanating from the trunk.

          “I need to get this body out of here in order to approximate the height of the victim but I can say with certainty that it is a male.  There are breaks that I need to reassemble to see if they were caused by the fire or beforehand.  But it’s obvious that it got incredibly hot inside this trunk which I believe means that our killer soaked the body in the same accelerant that he used to douse the rest of the car.”  Brennan told him. 

          “All right, I’ll get the team to bring over a body bag.  We’ll get this poor bastard back to the coroner’s office.”  Dippert looked as though he was about to throw up.  Despite all his years as a Sheriff he’d never seen anything like this before.

**Idaho Springs’ Coroner’s Office Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.  MST  (12:30 p.m. EST)**

            Brennan stood over the remains, examining the breaks and trying to determine what the actual cause of death was.  Booth had gone over to the police station as Marshals Gillette and Ryder had arrived back in town and they needed to be brought back up to date.  The forensic anthropologist hoped that Sarah Kemp would be all right but from looking at her X-rays she knew that the diagnosis wasn’t good.  The internal bleeding on the brain was very hazardous and the young lady was lucky that she was still alive when they found her.

          Her thoughts drifted to Booth and yesterday’s events.  She wanted him to talk with her but after the hotel room search had turned up nothing, he was in no mood to talk.  In fact, he had turned his back to her when they finally crawled into bed.  She lay awake awhile wondering how she could help him but she didn’t know how.  The analytical part of her mind reminded her that she wasn’t focusing on the remains on the table and she chided herself for it.

          Booth stood next door at the police station receiving information and giving it trying to put all the pieces together.

          “I’ve seen that look before.”  Marshal Ryder said to him.

          “I just can’t seem to wrap my head around what’s going on.  I mean Luciano seems to be very careful at times and at other times, he does odd things.  For instance, he kills Henry Wasmund, who for some reason hadn’t gotten to Sarah Kemp yet, and somehow forgets to grab his finger back.  Then he finds Sarah, kills Dr. Saunders, and takes his intended victim away.  However, instead of killing her, he beats her and leaves her in the trunk of her car with Mark Johnson’s blood all over the passenger seat.  Afterwards he shoots up a pizza parlor killing two people and injuring thirteen others.  Then instead of leaving town, he puts a dead body in the trunk of a car, douses everything in gasoline and then sets the car on fire.  The fire spreads to the nearby trees and causes three fire companies to battle the blaze.  It just seems like the man has lost his marbles.”  Booth told her.

          “It sounds like your guy was a little out of his element.  You said that Wasmund was the go to guy for Luciano’s dirty work right?”  Sheila wondered.

          “Yes he was.”   Booth said.

          “All right, so Luciano has never actually gotten his hands dirty.  That means when he killed people he wasn’t sure what to do.  I mean sure shooting or beating someone up isn’t hard it’s the disposing of the body that is difficult.”  She theorized.

          “He tries to bury Wasmund but the ground is too hard.  So when Sarah comes along he leaves her in the trunk.  However, she is found alive so he knows he has to adjust next time.  Killing people in a drive-by means he doesn’t have to dispose of the bodies, so when it comes to the newest victim, he tries to make sure we can’t identify him burns the car and evidence.  It’s a learning curve.”  Booth realized.

          Hours had passed and Brennan was almost done putting the skeleton back together.  She couldn’t help the feeling that she was being watched but she shook the feeling off.  There were only two people inside the coroner’s office, her and the victim.  Still she pulled off her rubber gloves and reached down into her case.  Grabbing another set of gloves she made sure that her gun was inside the case.  Satisfied she turned back to her work.  That’s when the door to the room busted open. 

          “So nice to finally meet you Doctor.”  The man said.  He leveled his 9mm pistol at her chest. 

          “Why don’t you step away from the table and tell me where my finger is?”      


	16. Chapter 16

**Idaho Springs’ Coroner’s Office, Tuesday at 3:45 p.m.  MST  (5:45 p.m. EST)**

          Brennan did as she was told and carefully moved away from the table.  Unfortunately this meant moving further away from her kit. 

          “I asked you where my finger is.  Don’t make me ask you again.”  Luciano told her.  The forensic anthropologist knew she needed to stall him.  If she told him the finger was back at the Jeffersonian, it would be the last thing she ever did. 

          “You have my files, you know where the finger is.”  Brennan said.

          “Yes well it appears I was premature in destroying your laptop the files stated you found the finger but not where it was.”  He moved closer to her so that the barrel of his 9mm handgun was only about six inches from her face. 

          “Sorry my mind is still a little fuzzy after I took that blow to the back of my head.”  An obvious lie but it might keep her alive a little longer.

          “Well I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.”  Luciano said nonchalantly.

          “You’re not as strong as I thought you were.  It’s quite obvious your alpha-male tendencies allow you to show your dominance over other men but when it comes to women you’d rather bash in their skulls.  I mean you fought with Henry Wasmund, threw him into a freezer, and then buried him out on the mountain.  Later you shot and killed Dr. Saunders.  Then you shoot up Beau Jo’s killing a father and son.  Poor Mark Johnson ended up dead and then burned, I’m still trying to account for how he died but it’s safe to say you didn’t hit him over the head.”  Brennan hoped that this would get him to forget about the finger for the moment.

          “I slashed the computer guy’s throat which is why his blood was all over Sarah Kemp’s car, I had hoped to throw you off.  It’s too bad I had to kill him.  He was a nice guy.”  The mobster just shrugged.  Now that he had admitted that, Brennan knew that he had no intention of keeping her alive.

          “But that’s getting off topic Doctor.  I’ll give you to the count of ten and then we’ll see how much of your body they’ll find.”  Luciano moved closer. 

          “All right.  I’ll get it.  It’s over in one of the body storage compartments.”  The forensic anthropologist tried to think on her feet.  _Where is Booth?_   She wondered.

          Special Agent Booth was with Marshals Gillette and Ryder trying to piece everything together and see what evidence they could get on Luciano when they found him when the call came in.  The Denver Health Medical Center told Gillette that Sarah Kemp went into cardiac arrest and now the only thing keeping her alive was the respirator they put her on.  Her family had been called the day before but they still hadn’t arrived yet.  They were due in at five o’clock.  Now Booth got up from his seat and decided to head next door to tell Brennan the bad news.

          Brennan slowly opened the door to one of the compartments that were about stomach level on Luciano.  He stepped close enough and she was able to take advantage.  Quickly she swung the door as hard as she could against the man’s midsection.  Taken unaware, Luciano stumbled backwards.  Brennan then ran for her case.  She reached it and pulled out her weapon.  The forensic anthropologist stood up and found the barrel of Luciano’s weapon in her face.  Apparently the hit hadn’t been hard enough.

          “Now Doctor that wasn’t very nice.  Why don’t you give me that gun?”  Luciano asked.  Brennan knew once she did that it would be game over but she did not have a choice.  She slowly started to hand the mobster her weapon.  That’s when she heard the front door of the coroner’s office open.  Her heart leapt.  _Booth!_ Then she realized that he was walking into a trap.  Luckily the sound of the door opening had caught Luciano’s attention. 

          Booth was about to open the door that led into the morgue when he heard the sound of a gunshot.  He pulled out his weapon and rushed into the room.


	17. Chapter 17

**On the flight to Washington D.C., Thursday at 11:00 a.m. MST (1:00 pm EST)**

          FBI Agent Seeley Booth sat on the plane watching the plains pass underneath him, a passing cloud blocked his view momentarily but he really wasn’t paying attention.  His mind was too busy trying to figure out how he was going to explain what happened to his superiors.  Cullen would certainly be upset and bring up the fact that he knew that squints didn’t belong in the field.  When he had first met Bones, he had agreed that squints shouldn’t be in the field but after all the adventures they’d been through, he had changed his mind.  Bones was more than capable of handling herself and he had found that there was no one he’d rather have by his side in an emergency situation.  The G-man closed his eyes and brought the images from Tuesday night back.

          _He had burst into the room his weapon drawn.  The smell of gunpowder filled his nostrils as he moved toward the body on the floor.  Mentally he was praying that it wasn’t Temperance.  He would never forgive himself if she were hurt or worse, dead.  He shook the thought from his head and refused to let himself believe it.  Bones had her own weapon and she knew how to use it._

_It seemed as though an hour had passed from the time he burst in until he reached the body on the floor.  His mind was racing a mile a minute.  He reached down and felt for a pulse._

          A hand on his shoulder snapped Booth from his reverie.  A slight smile crossed his lips as the person sat down next to him.

          “Are you feeling ok?”  He asked.  It seemed like a dumb question as his companion had gone to the bathroom for the third time since the plane had taken off.

          “Better now.  I think it must have been that breakfast we had before we left.”  A silence fell between the two and Booth wondered what he could say.  Deciding to take it easy, he opened his mouth.

          “You…”

          “I…” the two words came out at the same time and two people smiled. 

          “Seeley, I don’t know what to do.  I feel so confused.”

          “Temperance, you had no choice you had to shoot Luciano.  He was going to kill you.  You just protected yourself.”  Booth tried to make her feel better.

          “He heard you at the door and turned his head.  I took the opportunity to grab my weapon properly.  Luciano turned back to me and grabbed the barrel of the gun.  I didn’t hesitate; I just pulled the trigger.  I knew that you would be walking into a trap and I just reacted.”  Brennan told him.

          “You did what you had to do.  You were protecting yourself and your partner.  Sheriff Dippert cleared you of any wrongdoing.”  Her partner said.

          “I’m no better than those murderers we track down.”  She couldn’t understand how relaxed Booth was being about this.  The FBI Agent took a deep breath and with one hand he took her hand.  The other hand turned her face so he could see her eyes.  They were usually bright and happy but now they remained dark and fear hid behind them.

          “You had no choice.  I shouldn’t have left you alone, I’m sorry for that but all I can do know is try to help you.  I know the pain you feel won’t go away but somehow we’ll get through this.  I’m not going to let you deal by yourself but you have to promise me that you’ll tell me when you need me.  Don’t hold back anything.  I understand where you’re coming from and I want to help you.”  He smiled and Brennan gave him a tight smile in return.    

**Cullen’s office, Friday at 9:00am EST**

          “I received the report from Idaho Springs and I have read through the Sheriff’s paperwork.”  Cullen had a grim look on his face.

          “Yes, Sir.”  Booth said.

          “I also received a call from the Director of the U.S. Marshals.”  This statement made Booth squirm.

          “Am I to believe that Dr. Brennan killed one of the most wanted men in America all by herself?”  Cullen continued.

          “Sir, I left her alone in the morgue to work with Marshals Gillette and Ryder on how to capture Luciano.  I should not have done that.  The police station was right next door and I figured…” Booth didn’t get a chance to finish as he superior cut him off.

          “You figured?  You left a squint, who carries a loaded gun with her, and thought she’d be all right?”  Cullen’s voice was growing louder.

          “Sir, I made a mistake.  One that I can assure you will never happen again.”  The subordinate told him.

          “Oh you bet it won’t.”  Cullen told him.

          “Sir, she did…” Again Booth was cut off.

          “Luckily for you the Bureau and Marshals have agreed to the findings in Sheriff Dippert’s report.  You keep her on a tighter leash, do you understand me?”  The Deputy Director asked.

          “Yes, sir.”  Booth answered.

          “That’ll be all.”  Cullen dismissed the agent and Booth headed for the door.  His next stop was to be the Jeffersonian.      


	18. Chapter 18

**The Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab, Friday 11:00 a.m.**

          Dr. Temperance Brennan sat in her office with the door closed and her chair facing away from the door.  The package that had arrived while she and Booth were away had been opened and now the contents lay on her desk.  She had spent the last hour rereading the note that she had found and listening to the compact disc that had come with it.

_Conversations with my thirteen-year-old self; Conversations with my thirteen-year-old self_ _…_

For all intents and purposes the song had been factually off as she was in fact fifteen when her parents vanished. 

_You're angry, I know this, The world couldn't care less, You're lonely, I feel this, And you wish you were the best, No teachers, Or guidance, And you always walk alone, You're crying, At night when, Nobody else is home…_

          Tears welled up in her eyes again for the third time as the words danced around in her head.

_Come over here and let me hold your hand and hug you darling, I promise you that it won't always feel this bad, There are so many things I want to say to you, You're the girl I used to be,_

_You little heartbroken thirteen year old me…_

Right now she wished that there was someone there for her but the office remained empty and silent.  Brennan could feel the tears running down her cheeks and making the top of her blouse wet.

_You're laughing, But you're hiding, God I know that trick too well, You forget, That I've been you,_ _And now I'm just the shell, I promise, I love you and, Everything will work out fine, Don't try to, Grow up yet, Oh just give it some time…_

          So wrapped up in her thoughts she didn’t hear Booth’s light knock on the office door nor did she see him open the door and come in.

_The pain you feel is real you're not asleep but it's a nightmare, But you can wake up anytime, Oh don't lose your passion or the fighter that's inside of you, You're the girl I used to be, The pissed off complicated thirteen year old me…_

          Brennan reached up and wiped her own tears away.  She shouldn’t feel sorry for herself despite her family leaving her; everything had worked out relatively well.  She had a job she loved, friends that were always there for her, and Booth.  _Booth_ , she sighed at the thought of his name.

_Conversations with my thirteen-year-old self; Conversations with my thirteen-year-old self…_

          “Bones, are you ok?”  Those four words broke the silence of the room and reached Brennan’s ears.  She turned her chair toward the familiar comforting voice.

_Until we meet again, Oh I wish you well oh, I wish you well, Little girl, Until we meet again, Oh, I wish you well, Little girl, I wish you well, Until we meet again, My little thirteen year old me._

          The forensic anthropologist smiled as her partner and boyfriend’s concern was evident.  She loved him more than she could even fathom.  Without him life would be so incomplete.

          “What’s this?”  Booth asked.

          “A present from my father.”  Brennan told him as she handed him the note.  The FBI Agent took the note from her and read it aloud.

          “Temperance, I love you so much and I just want you to understand some things before you completely shut me out.  Your mother and I never wanted to leave you or Russ like that.  I’ll be seeing you soon.  Love, Dad.”  Booth shook his head and sat down on the top of the desk.

          “He also left me this compact disc with only one song on it.”  She handed over the case. 

          “Pink huh?  Your dad didn’t give me the impression he was into pop rock.”  Booth smiled.  Brennan gave a thoughtful look but didn’t say anything. 

          “So Cullen ripped me a new one.  Luckily both the Bureau and Marshals Service have agreed that you acted in self-defense.  Starting today I have to keep you ‘on a tighter leash’.”  The G-man told her, effectively changing the subject.  An added emphasis on the last phrase and the use of air quotes earned him a look from his partner

          “Excuse me?”  Brennan asked.

          “Hey Cullen’s words not mine.  I shouldn’t have left you alone.  That was my fault.  Basically Cullen just doesn’t want you showing me up again.”  Booth teased.

          “Showing you up huh?”  Brennan smirked.

          “Yeah he doesn’t want to let the world know that a former Army Ranger now FBI Agent couldn’t take out the guy he was after and a squint did.”  He smiled his classic ‘charm smile’. 

          “Oh so instead of being your capable partner, I’m a squint again?”  The forensic anthropologist was starting to get defensive.  Booth backed down.

          “Hey hey easy Bones.  You know there isn’t anyone I’d rather have than you as my partner.  We just have to be more careful out in the field.  I don’t want to give Cullen a reason for splitting us up.”  He told her.

          “You’re right.  I’m sorry.  I just…” she sighed and her shoulders sagged.  Booth got up off the desk and came around to her chair.  He placed his hands on the armrests and looked deeply into her eyes.

          “I know this last week has been rough.  Why don’t you stop by my place after work today?  We’ll have dinner and talk.”  Booth smiled.

          “Usually when you say that we end up ‘talking’ in your bedroom.”  Brennan mimicked his use of air quotes.  A big smile crossed his face.  He stood up and kissed her cheek. 

          “I’ll see you tonight.”  The FBI Agent gave her a wink and left her office.

**The End**


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